It is pretty hard to miss when a tour group walks past you on campus. Big-eyed high school students glued to your walk past, envisioning themselves becoming just like you. The parents tend to stare even more, the endless questions about every detail of our school filling up their minds.
This Is a Zoo, Not College
Some might say they feel like zoo animals. Unable to communicate with the observers but having their every movement watched and thought about. Though sometimes it really does feel this way, it can also often give you a minor ego boost for the day. After all, you are the center of attention for about 0.5 seconds.
We Know It’s True
Just admit it … you try your best to look cool and mysterious when passing a tour group. It really is not something to be ashamed of, we all just want to be the reason someone spikes interest in going to Penn State.
Can You Picture It?
Still not willing to admit it? That’s okay, envision this.
You’re sitting in the library, lacking the motivation to open anything other than Instagram. Suddenly, you hear the whispers of a micro-phoned scripted voice. Almost immediately you register that it is a tour group and drop your phone down. Finally opening your computer, you type a little faster than you normally would, making yourself appear studious and too busy to be bothered.
Later, you get a text from your friends asking you to join them on the HUB lawn to lay out and toss a frisbee. Knowing that the sun is out, and it is slightly over 60 degrees, you type back “coming now” without hesitation. Though you’ve never been one to take ultimate frisbee too seriously, a tour group walks past you again. Subconsciously you reach for the flying frisbee a little harder when you notice twenty pairs of eyes on you. With the catch successful, you toss it back to your friends with deeper satisfaction, knowing the group found that even mildly impressive.
We Really All Do It
Back at the dorms that evening, you’re sitting in the commons with your friends debriefing everyone’s day. That same micro-phoned voice suddenly grows louder from around the corner. Admit it, you try a little harder to seem engaged and that you are having fun as the group approaches. When your friend makes a joke at the end of their story, each one of you laughs a little louder than you all normally would have. Never to say why you did it, but silently knowing you want to be the people they desire to be.
Tweet us, @VALLEYmag, with how you act when you pass a tour group!
